General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: u534 in a sorry state - more info
Posted by:
John Griffiths
()
Date: July 08, 2001 10:08AM
<HTML>Hi John,
This is taken off a web site and is probably a bit of truth mixed with fiction!
>>Substantiated rumours were that U 534 was carrying important senior Nazi and Japanese officers, treasure or other valuable items. <<
That bit is speculation! There is proof that one U-boat - U234 - was being fitted out for a special mission and she later surrendered to the USS Sutton. She was then escorted to Plymouth New Hampshire. Her cargo included 560kg of Uranium Oxide...which has never been explained. What did Japan want with it? What did the US do with it? She was also carrying two senior Japanese officers who committed suicide rather than be captured.
>>U 534 belonged to a special flotilla active in the last stages of the war ferrying lucrative cargoes and top officials to safe havens. One of a similar class captured in the same era, was reputed to have been carrying three generals, blueprints for the flying bomb and liquid mercury.<<
It was U234 and not 534!
>> The wreck was discovered in 1986 by a Danish diver, Age Jensen causing a dispute over salvage rights. Danish Publisher and businessman, Mr Carsten Ree, claimed he was awarded salvage rights to all German wartime property off Denmark, Norway and Sweden in the 1950s. Under a salvage licence issued by the Danish Defence Ministry, the submarine was awarded to Mr Ree, but it was acknowledged that material inside the vessel belonged to the Danish State which had jurisdiction because the wreck is in Danish waters. The authorities then licensed a Dutch salvage company, Smit Tak, to raise the boat on behalf and at expense of Mr Ree and, in August 1993, a 12-hour salvage and recovery operation at a cost of $4.4 million saw the submarine placed on a salvage barge.
First on board were to be Danish munitions experts and an \'environment protection vessel\' in case of acid or fuel leaks. Conservation experts followed. Corrosion damage was noted, though the waters in which the wreck lay were fresh. Water had flooded most of the vessel bar isolated air pockets. Seventeen tonnes of provisions, some diaries documents and film canisters were recovered from the safe. These were so tightly packed that they remained sealed and many were legible. One hundred bottles of German wine, tools, spare parts, kitchen utensils, clothes, tins of food and a \'gross\' of condoms were also recovered. Thus the conservators found not treasure, but surprisingly well-preserved effects and supplies of a German U-boat crew. According to the head of registration and preservation, a covering of oil that permeated throughout the vessel soon after it sank has been crucial to preservation. The Danish Government eventually issued a list of items found on board giving third parties such as the Italian or German Governments four months to register any claims they might have to the contents. There were some concerns expressed that the German Government, which technically owned any papers found on board, might choose to order the destruction of some documents for strategic or intelligence reasons. A \"Time Capsule\". At the time of it\'s sinking, the U-534 had on board, ALL the fuel, 8 tons of munitions,food etc to get her self and her full crew to South America. Also, there were Two Enigma machines+extra code wheels, linked together to enable the de-coding of very complex messages. Among the 13 Torpedoes aboard, 3 were the Type \"T11\"...Only 38 were ever made! They are now in the hands of the Danish Navy. They were still aboard, 48 years later when, the U-534 surfaced once again.....<<
Take most of that with a pinch of salt! For her history, look at the information on the site!
In terms of conservation, many books - including those written by Jak Showell - state that she is being renovated / preserved. My brother went aboard last year and said that this is clearly not the case as the boat is, as you put it, falling into disrepair and rusting badly.
My own view is that she is simply being used to generate revenue for the rest of the ships at the site - which is so sad, considering that Liverpool was the HQ for the Battle of The Atlantic and a renovated and preserved U-boat would be a fitting exhibit. I know of no attempts to preserve her.
By the way, we - some of us that is - plan a trip to her in November. See the thread on the forum and if you\'re interested...welcome!
Aye,
John
</HTML>
This is taken off a web site and is probably a bit of truth mixed with fiction!
>>Substantiated rumours were that U 534 was carrying important senior Nazi and Japanese officers, treasure or other valuable items. <<
That bit is speculation! There is proof that one U-boat - U234 - was being fitted out for a special mission and she later surrendered to the USS Sutton. She was then escorted to Plymouth New Hampshire. Her cargo included 560kg of Uranium Oxide...which has never been explained. What did Japan want with it? What did the US do with it? She was also carrying two senior Japanese officers who committed suicide rather than be captured.
>>U 534 belonged to a special flotilla active in the last stages of the war ferrying lucrative cargoes and top officials to safe havens. One of a similar class captured in the same era, was reputed to have been carrying three generals, blueprints for the flying bomb and liquid mercury.<<
It was U234 and not 534!
>> The wreck was discovered in 1986 by a Danish diver, Age Jensen causing a dispute over salvage rights. Danish Publisher and businessman, Mr Carsten Ree, claimed he was awarded salvage rights to all German wartime property off Denmark, Norway and Sweden in the 1950s. Under a salvage licence issued by the Danish Defence Ministry, the submarine was awarded to Mr Ree, but it was acknowledged that material inside the vessel belonged to the Danish State which had jurisdiction because the wreck is in Danish waters. The authorities then licensed a Dutch salvage company, Smit Tak, to raise the boat on behalf and at expense of Mr Ree and, in August 1993, a 12-hour salvage and recovery operation at a cost of $4.4 million saw the submarine placed on a salvage barge.
First on board were to be Danish munitions experts and an \'environment protection vessel\' in case of acid or fuel leaks. Conservation experts followed. Corrosion damage was noted, though the waters in which the wreck lay were fresh. Water had flooded most of the vessel bar isolated air pockets. Seventeen tonnes of provisions, some diaries documents and film canisters were recovered from the safe. These were so tightly packed that they remained sealed and many were legible. One hundred bottles of German wine, tools, spare parts, kitchen utensils, clothes, tins of food and a \'gross\' of condoms were also recovered. Thus the conservators found not treasure, but surprisingly well-preserved effects and supplies of a German U-boat crew. According to the head of registration and preservation, a covering of oil that permeated throughout the vessel soon after it sank has been crucial to preservation. The Danish Government eventually issued a list of items found on board giving third parties such as the Italian or German Governments four months to register any claims they might have to the contents. There were some concerns expressed that the German Government, which technically owned any papers found on board, might choose to order the destruction of some documents for strategic or intelligence reasons. A \"Time Capsule\". At the time of it\'s sinking, the U-534 had on board, ALL the fuel, 8 tons of munitions,food etc to get her self and her full crew to South America. Also, there were Two Enigma machines+extra code wheels, linked together to enable the de-coding of very complex messages. Among the 13 Torpedoes aboard, 3 were the Type \"T11\"...Only 38 were ever made! They are now in the hands of the Danish Navy. They were still aboard, 48 years later when, the U-534 surfaced once again.....<<
Take most of that with a pinch of salt! For her history, look at the information on the site!
In terms of conservation, many books - including those written by Jak Showell - state that she is being renovated / preserved. My brother went aboard last year and said that this is clearly not the case as the boat is, as you put it, falling into disrepair and rusting badly.
My own view is that she is simply being used to generate revenue for the rest of the ships at the site - which is so sad, considering that Liverpool was the HQ for the Battle of The Atlantic and a renovated and preserved U-boat would be a fitting exhibit. I know of no attempts to preserve her.
By the way, we - some of us that is - plan a trip to her in November. See the thread on the forum and if you\'re interested...welcome!
Aye,
John
</HTML>
